NY chicken lover!!!!

[Devona]

I'm also worried about my critters outside this weekend. My rabbits have heating pads, but even so......I will definitely put the three chickens at the bottom of the outside basement stairs at least. It's always a few degrees warmer than outside. It was reading 48* in that area earlier tonight, and the weather app on my phone is saying that it was 20* outside. So Saturday night, that's where they'll sleep. Maybe even from tomorrow night. But they'll have to go back outside in the morning. They certainly can't stay in that tiny space all day. I'm still toying with the idea of bringing in two of the rabbits Saturday night. Their hutch is more exposed to wind than the other one, which is under an overhang type structure attached to the house.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Yes they eat bananas & skins ..mine eat everything we eat ..or discard ..including melon rinds ..
this is considered snacks ...so shouldnt be more than 10 % of their food ..
Also chickens shouldnt have too much fat ...it is bad for their liver .
I mix raw grated / chopped veggies with some bread / sunflower seed / their feed .
chickens that are not raised on variety may stick their noses up at new stuff ..
If your chickens wont eat the pumpkin seeds & insides.. sprinkle some sunflower seeds or bird see inside it ..

 

[Gramma Chick]

So Saturday night, that's where they'll sleep.

that is safer than trying to heat their area

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

Hi Everyone!

My apologies for being away so long. I'm sorry to hear about the cancer fights happening. We had some family members one after the other from this past July and Just this month we've been waiting to hear about my other Aunt. Her labs just came back good so I'm taking a breath of relief here. I think it's taken a toll on my own heart personally. It's been a tough few months. Then my own Dr. left his practice to move to St. Joes to be a hospitalist so I've been waiting patiently for an appointment with our new Dr. I have type II diabetes which has been under control until all the stress over the past few months. The good news is my teeth are nice and healthy though! Hahaha

Anyhoo, I wanted to pop in as I have been private messaging a couple of you during my hiatus. I was curious to see what everyone is going to do with their hens on Saturday. We're in Oswego Co. I see where some of us will be getting negative weather -10 for us, but the windchills will be more like -25. We don't have electricity out in the coop. I've been debating on whether to bring them in as I've seen a few of you mention, but I have no idea what I would do or how I would keep them contained in the basement. We have all pine shavings. A couple windows will be opened a tad, they have their 20 gallon rubbermaid bins we use for the nests but I'm not at all sure they'd all huddle in there would they? The run has hay along all the windy sides so they will keep drafts out. I'm just worried about the coop at this point. There is only 4 of them and the coop is a pretty big 8ft x 10ft Rubbermaid shed. They've been fine so far but this weekend will be the first pretty cold weather since we've gotten them this fall. I think I remember most of you saying they should be fine as they are Pullets but have lots of feathers. No chicks here at all.



I wanted to share a bit of what's been going on over here on our end.

Alley the cat has a coronation ceremony.



The ladies refused for a few weeks to even walk out in the snow. "You must be off your rocker!!! I heard them clucking"



Meanwhile the kid was squishing them all (two in particular) Meet Mrs. Pattmore in her black garb.

Poor Countess Of Grantham doesn't like petty emotions but she lets the kid squeeze her all the same just because she loves her. She also has taken to watching over the smaller girls of the lower pecking order.



Will ya look at that?! I was wondering if we'd get any eggs at all. I assumed they'd start laying around the end of December when in fact they started laying around the end of January. Aren't they beautiful eggs?! We don't eat many. My husband is vegan and myself and our daughter eat only a small amount of eggs and fish once in a while. We love the chickens for gardening purposes and controlling the smaller pest population. Below are the eggs we gave to one of our neighbors that has plowed our driveway several times. We gave three of our closest neighbors eggs for being kind throughout the year. While it won't be a regular thing, we wanted to give something to show them our appreciation.



This past week, someone laid an egg twice the size. We had one double yolk like the first on the left, but this one was truly an amazingly HUGE egg poor sweet girl.


Thank you Gramma for all your great input! The girls now are going out of the coop, I started using a bit more scratch ON THE GROUND (we were adding it to the dishes. OOPSIE!) and they are now laying. You calmed my fears and helped me through some questions in a jiffy.

I have been lurking a bit but not on as much as I'd like. I have missed the silliness and fun of this group. Your all amazing!

Finally, I think I'm going to get 4 more pullets in the spring. I was just wondering if anyone has Cuckoo Marans that lay the speckled eggs? I know they are a rare breed originating from France (look at me talk as if I have been doing this for a while.

) . My friend has one and I believe she's from the Carolina's. I'm not sure they are winter hardy. I think someone in this group gets speckled eggs though. We seem to have two of each color so I can keep them all straight. Hahaha


Also, I'm trying to figure out where to quarantine the four new ones when we get them. All the ladies have access to free-ranging in the back yard for a few hours until my husband leaves and then I'll let them out again until 4 when they'll go back in, have a snack and roost for the night. A pretty nice schedule we have going here.

I can probably get a small coop with a run and put it in the front portion of our yard on the opposite side of the fece but it is NOT fully fenced in and they will be seen by everyone that walks their dog, as well as the dogs that end up loose often and all the stray cats that get dropped off. While I"m assuming the coop and run for quarantine would be okay for a short time, I'd like to be sure they won't be susceptible to coyotes running loose and other predators and wonder how safe they'd be in a ready made 4-6 chicken coop? We don't live in a city but we're on the outskirts of a small town in a cup de sac with the woods facing behind our house. We get all kinds of critters and people like to walk the cut de sac so I'm also leary of prying eyes on our chickens but nobody has taken anything from our yard so far. We have good people here it seems. Anyone have reasonably priced 4-6 chicken coops that can either come ready made or that we could put together that will be weather resistant?

If you all read through this, God bless ya!

I haven't been in here in a while and I am obviously long-winded. I hope I've made ya smile or laugh today. Happy Friday everyone!

 

[Devona]

Hi gem, I see you're a night owl like me. I don't think we've ever 'met'. I only started here in December. I share your critter concerns about this weekend, but since I only have three adult chickens living outside (five babies live in the basement bathroom), I figured I'll just put them in a cold part of my basement Saturday night, which is supposed to be 1 degree here. Regarding your quarantine coop, can you fit a small coop and run in your backyard? They will still be separate from the others. I myself would be hesitant to put it in the front yard that's not fully secure. People can seem good and honest until temptation is put under their noses. And your newbies might be stressed unnecessarily by critters coming right up to their enclosure. Just my two cents.

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

Hi gem, I see you're a night owl like me. I don't think we've ever 'met'. I only started here in December. I share your critter concerns about this weekend, but since I only have three adult chickens living outside (five babies live in the basement bathroom), I figured I'll just put them in a cold part of my basement Saturday night, which is supposed to be 1 degree here. Regarding your quarantine coop, can you fit a small coop and run in your backyard? They will still be separate from the others. I myself would be hesitant to put it in the front yard that's not fully secure. People can seem good and honest until temptation is put under their noses. And your newbies might be stressed unnecessarily by critters coming right up to their enclosure. Just my two cents.

Hi There Devona! Nice to meet you. I was thinking of putting them in the back yard towards the front corner but the other birds free-range the whole yard. I don't think it would be a quarantine if I did that. Unless, I put the coop in our fenced off garden. They'll be close but in an area fenced off so the girls won't get to them. I don't know if that would still be an issue though seeing as though a few short feet away is their immediate coop. They walk out into the yard and they'll see the others though fenced in the garden.

Yes, I'm a night owl unfortunately. My husband is an RN for a cardiac unit and he works evenings. Momma doesn't sleep until everyone is tucked in bed. Unfortunately momma needs to wind down as well. I've added an essential oil defuser to help but it's pulling away from things I'd like to catch up on. I can do it when everyone else is asleep. There is only 24 hours in a day. I can't keep up! lol


Nice to meet you! I look forward to getting to know you.

 

[Devona]

I'm not sure, since I've never quarantined anything or anyone before, but I would think that a coop in your fenced off garden should be ok, since there would be no physical contact. Unless you're worried about something airborne. How about a simple wire run ( attached to quarantine coop), within the fenced garden? That way they can't touch each other through the fence? How long is a quarantine period, anyway? You could use a wide piece or pieces of temporary fencing, bent in an arch, open on the coop end and closed on the other, this would be enclosed by the garden fence. Sort of like a long wire tunnel. Would that work?

 

[boskelli1571]

Yes they eat bananas & skins ..mine eat everything we eat ..or discard ..including melon rinds ..
this is considered snacks ...so shouldnt be more than 10 % of their food ..
Also chickens shouldnt have too much fat ...it is bad for their liver .
I mix raw grated / chopped veggies with some bread / sunflower seed / their feed .
chickens that are not raised on variety may stick their noses up at new stuff ..
If your chickens wont eat the pumpkin seeds & insides.. sprinkle some sunflower seeds or bird see inside it ..

When it's really cold like this I make some oatmeal, mix in any scraps, usually a couple of shredded apples, a big dollop of yoghurt and feed it in the late afternoon. The henhouse goes completely quiet while they are slurping away!!

 

[boskelli1571]

Hi Everyone!

My apologies for being away so long. I'm sorry to hear about the cancer fights happening. We had some family members one after the other from this past July and Just this month we've been waiting to hear about my other Aunt. Her labs just came back good so I'm taking a breath of relief here. I think it's taken a toll on my own heart personally. It's been a tough few months. Then my own Dr. left his practice to move to St. Joes to be a hospitalist so I've been waiting patiently for an appointment with our new Dr. I have type II diabetes which has been under control until all the stress over the past few months. The good news is my teeth are nice and healthy though! Hahaha

Anyhoo, I wanted to pop in as I have been private messaging a couple of you during my hiatus. I was curious to see what everyone is going to do with their hens on Saturday. We're in Oswego Co. I see where some of us will be getting negative weather -10 for us, but the windchills will be more like -25. We don't have electricity out in the coop. I've been debating on whether to bring them in as I've seen a few of you mention, but I have no idea what I would do or how I would keep them contained in the basement. We have all pine shavings. A couple windows will be opened a tad, they have their 20 gallon rubbermaid bins we use for the nests but I'm not at all sure they'd all huddle in there would they? The run has hay along all the windy sides so they will keep drafts out. I'm just worried about the coop at this point. There is only 4 of them and the coop is a pretty big 8ft x 10ft Rubbermaid shed. They've been fine so far but this weekend will be the first pretty cold weather since we've gotten them this fall. I think I remember most of you saying they should be fine as they are Pullets but have lots of feathers. No chicks here at all.



I wanted to share a bit of what's been going on over here on our end.

Alley the cat has a coronation ceremony.



The ladies refused for a few weeks to even walk out in the snow. "You must be off your rocker!!! I heard them clucking"



Meanwhile the kid was squishing them all (two in particular) Meet Mrs. Pattmore in her black garb.

Poor Countess Of Grantham doesn't like petty emotions but she lets the kid squeeze her all the same just because she loves her. She also has taken to watching over the smaller girls of the lower pecking order.



Will ya look at that?! I was wondering if we'd get any eggs at all. I assumed they'd start laying around the end of December when in fact they started laying around the end of January. Aren't they beautiful eggs?! We don't eat many. My husband is vegan and myself and our daughter eat only a small amount of eggs and fish once in a while. We love the chickens for gardening purposes and controlling the smaller pest population. Below are the eggs we gave to one of our neighbors that has plowed our driveway several times. We gave three of our closest neighbors eggs for being kind throughout the year. While it won't be a regular thing, we wanted to give something to show them our appreciation.



This past week, someone laid an egg twice the size. We had one double yolk like the first on the left, but this one was truly an amazingly HUGE egg poor sweet girl.


Thank you Gramma for all your great input! The girls now are going out of the coop, I started using a bit more scratch ON THE GROUND (we were adding it to the dishes. OOPSIE!) and they are now laying. You calmed my fears and helped me through some questions in a jiffy.

I have been lurking a bit but not on as much as I'd like. I have missed the silliness and fun of this group. Your all amazing!

Finally, I think I'm going to get 4 more pullets in the spring. I was just wondering if anyone has Cuckoo Marans that lay the speckled eggs? I know they are a rare breed originating from France (look at me talk as if I have been doing this for a while.

) . My friend has one and I believe she's from the Carolina's. I'm not sure they are winter hardy. I think someone in this group gets speckled eggs though. We seem to have two of each color so I can keep them all straight. Hahaha


Also, I'm trying to figure out where to quarantine the four new ones when we get them. All the ladies have access to free-ranging in the back yard for a few hours until my husband leaves and then I'll let them out again until 4 when they'll go back in, have a snack and roost for the night. A pretty nice schedule we have going here.

I can probably get a small coop with a run and put it in the front portion of our yard on the opposite side of the fece but it is NOT fully fenced in and they will be seen by everyone that walks their dog, as well as the dogs that end up loose often and all the stray cats that get dropped off. While I"m assuming the coop and run for quarantine would be okay for a short time, I'd like to be sure they won't be susceptible to coyotes running loose and other predators and wonder how safe they'd be in a ready made 4-6 chicken coop? We don't live in a city but we're on the outskirts of a small town in a cup de sac with the woods facing behind our house. We get all kinds of critters and people like to walk the cut de sac so I'm also leary of prying eyes on our chickens but nobody has taken anything from our yard so far. We have good people here it seems. Anyone have reasonably priced 4-6 chicken coops that can either come ready made or that we could put together that will be weather resistant?

If you all read through this, God bless ya!

I haven't been in here in a while and I am obviously long-winded. I hope I've made ya smile or laugh today. Happy Friday everyone!

Had you thought of Welsummers for dark speckled eggs? Although I haven't had any black copper Marans, I have been disappointed by the egg coloring of my 3 Maran hens - I think Welsummers are prettier eggs...
As for your newbies - I would think they will be safe inside the coop, the run would need to be secure. Little fuzzy things that run are very tempting to any prey animal. Although our Beagles are great around older hens, I would not trust them with chicks, it's just too tempting.

 

[Beer can]

I've never had Marans, have heard the color/darkness of their eggs vary.
The Welsummers I've had varied in darkness also, sometimes really 'chocolate' sometimes really light. But always had cool dark speckles sometimes big spots.
Welsummers are more readily available, and lay more eggs than Marans also. Some Marans have feathered feet, some don't like that, mud, ice.